My grandmother Valentina is 102 years old

My grandmother Valentina is 102 years old. When she was 19, she became paralyzed from the neck down.

It was 1941, just a few months after Nazi Germany invaded the USSR.

In Valentina's village, all the men had left for the war.

Women were sent to cut down huge trees to block roads in an attempt to slow down German tanks approaching Moscow.

Amid the brutal Russian winter, the women worked insane hours in freezing conditions, with snow up to their waist.

This caused damage to my granny's nervous system, leading to paralysis.

She was taken to a local hospital and told she would never be able to move again.

Yet, just a few months later, Valentina got up. Her explanation? "The whole country was at war, and there I was, lying in bed being lazy. I couldn't stand that!"

My granny never became paralyzed again, but the incident left her with polyarthritis, a condition causing chronic pain and deforming all her joints. The pain becomes particularly severe during the long, cold Russian winters.

Despite this, she never took painkillers and never ever complained.

Valentina's challenges didn't end there.

She endured Stalin's repressions, the hardships and famines of collectivization, and the chaos of the Soviet Union's collapse, which claimed the lives of her husband and son and wiped out all her life's savings.

Last month, she injured her right hand and was told she wouldn't use it again.

Her reaction? She learned to use her left hand, joking, "What took me so long? I should have learned this long ago! Imagine how much more work I could have done!"

She's as fiercely independent, intensely curious, warm, and loving as ever.

My granny is my secret weapon. Whenever I feel weak or sorry for myself, I think of her.

Valentina’s life makes me wonder if a strong will, hard work, sense of duty, and unconditional love are the real sorces of a long fulfilling life, rather than chasing after health fads.

PS: on this photo Valentina is with my son who loves her madly.